Thread: Bill would offer N.C. tuition rate to illegals

This poll is on the front page of the Wilmington Star-News website at:

http://www.starnewsonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/frontpage

Should children of illegal immigrants get in-state tuition rates at N.C. colleges?

Yes
No
I don't know


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Wilmington Star-News

LINK to Article

Last updated: April 13. 2005 12:32AM

Bill would offer N.C. tuition rate to illegals


By William L. Holmes
Associated Press



RALEIGH | With North Carolina’s Hispanic population booming – and Hispanic children dropping out of school at alarming rates – lawmakers introduced a bill Tuesday that would extend resident tuition rates at public universities to the children of illegal immigrants.

Former Gov. Jim Hunt returned to the General Assembly to show his support for the legislation, which is sponsored in the House by two Republicans and two Democrats. The measure would give in-state tuition to students who attended schools in North Carolina for at least four consecutive years before graduation. Young people in the country would have to apply for legal immigration status to receive the resident rate.

“It is morally right and it is economically necessary for our state,� Mr. Hunt said. “We need these students. They have worked hard. They have excelled in high school. We need them to get all the education they can get.�

The bill appears to enjoy wide support; by Tuesday, 31 legislators had signed on as co-sponsors, drawing an expression of surprise from the president of a Raleigh-based group that lobbies for tighter restrictions on immigration.

“It’s amazing that 35 politicians are so out of touch with their constituents,� said William Gheen, president of Americans for Legal Immigration.

Illegal immigrants admitted to University of North Carolina schools would take up some of the limited number of spots for in-state residents, Mr. Gheen said.

“I hate to see a bill that will eventually replace thousands of Americans in college with illegal immigrants at taxpayer expense,� Mr. Gheen said.

Supporters of the bill say the alternative is a growing number of young Hispanics without a college education even in the face of growing demand for bilingual workers. Supporters expect 480 students to 1,345 students to apply for admission to University of North Carolina schools this year if the bill passes.

“It makes economic sense to give these students ... an opportunity to succeed,� said Andrea Bazan-Manson, executive director of the Raleigh-based Hispanic advocacy group El Pueblo.

Illegal immigrants are allowed to apply to any college they wish to attend, but they must pay out-of-state tuition if they are accepted to a public university in North Carolina, regardless of where they live.

The state’s flagship university, UNC-Chapel Hill, charges $3,200 a year for in-state tuition, compared to $16,300 for nonresident students.

One result is that many Hispanics quit school, knowing they can’t afford to pay for college. About 58 percent of foreign-born Hispanics in North Carolina age 16 to 19 are dropouts, either in their home country or in the United States, according to an analysis of 2000 Census figures by the Pew Hispanic Center.

Rep. Jeff Barnhart, R-Cabarrus, one of the bill’s sponsors, said the state wastes the abilities of talented students by restricting access to higher education.

“These children come to live here because their parents brought them,� Mr. Barnhart said. “How far do we punish? These students are committed to their education, and I’m 100 percent committed to helping them.�

Jaime Zea, a 16-year-old student at Enloe High School in Raleigh, said many of his fellow Hispanic students have given up on education.

“It’s a living hell for them,� said Jaime, the son of an accountant and a homemaker who moved him legally from Colombia four years ago.

Jaime , who plans to attend college to study broadcast journalism and already produces a short news broadcast for his high school, said he wants others to have the same chance he’ll have.
“It’s not about me. It’s about us,� he said.

Nine states – none in the South – have approved similar legislation, said bill sponsor Rep. Rick Glazier, D-Cumberland. Similar measures are pending in 14 other states, including Florida, Georgia and Maryland. Arkansas lawmakers are expected to consider such a bill within the next few weeks, Ms. Bazan-Manson said.

“In the end, this bill is about economic development and it’s about educational opportunity, but it’s also about the soul of who we are,� Mr. Glazier said. “Ultimately, it’s about children.�

Let me see if I have this right. If I had a child who wanted to attend college in North Carolina (I don't live in NC), he or she would have to pay out-of-state tuition while some illegal would be paying less than my American citizen child?
That is total bologna.

That's right. You would have to pay apx. $16,300 and the illegal immigrant would pay $3,200.
Doesn't that make you think you'll sleep better tonight? Most people living in North Carolina cannot afford to send their children to UNC unless they mortgage their homes.
It seems to me that our Legislature is not paying attention if they think North Carolinians (or legal Americans) can afford this in any fashion or form.
So sad that it is a "living hell" for the illegal immigrants trying to better themselves with higher education after their parents brought them here. The only reason they are still here is because their parents continue to break the law. It's a neverending cycle.
It pretty much a living hell for the parents of American children trying to afford sending their child to college. Where do we go for help?

good12me wrote:
Doesn't that make you think you'll sleep better tonight? Most people living in North Carolina cannot afford to send their children to UNC unless they mortgage their homes.
It seems to me that our Legislature is not paying attention if they think North Carolinians (or legal Americans) can afford this in any fashion or form.

Actually, it will give me a nightmare.
Most of our elected representatives are not paying attention to us. It is up to us to make sure that they pay attention. Spread the word about the site. Knowledge IS power.